About Town

Black Glow Matters

By Crystal C. Mercer

When I was a little girl, there was nothing  more I dreamed of than going to Africa. My late father, Attorney Christopher C. Mercer, Jr., was friends with Alex Haley, the author of ROOTS. I had an instant connection to the Motherland. In 2018 I lived in Accra, Ghana and my childhood dream became true. It was there BLACK GLOW MATTERS was born. The Poetry EP and the short film, which share the same name, is about lineage and legacy. It’s a story about honoring the ancestors, raising the dead even, to pay homage to those who have paved a path of resistance and resilience. A story of survival. A story of sensuality. A story of illuminating from the inside out.

BLACK GLOW MATTERS is a story about a cotton blossom of a girl from Little Rock, Arkansas who fully blooms into her freedom in Accra, Ghana. These projects pay homage to all the ways I found myself when I was able to sojourn to the realm of my origin. Growing up in the American South (or anywhere) was difficult for a Black girl. I was constantly met with aggression and oppression. In Ghana, I could exist without question. I was completely free. Glowing in every sense of the word… and in the midst of this time that we are in, our joy resistance, too. Glow on, people, glow on. BLACK GLOW MATTERS, EP streaming everywhere, short available here.

CRYSTAL C. MERCER A gem from The Natural State, Mercer is always looking for the next adventure that will unearth her poetic, textile, and dramatic magic. Activated by arts and activism… She knows, shows, and cares about what’s going on in the hood. Stay connected to her at www.crystalcmercer.com.

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